Introduction
Customer Success best practices are critical for creating an efficient and customer-centric business. Standardizing these practices ensures your team operates with a clear, unified approach, reducing errors and enhancing customer satisfaction. Building on our previous guide on Centralizing Customer Data, this series will help you standardize handovers, optimize engagements, track compliance, and manage stakeholder changes effectively.
Step 1: Standardize handovers and transitions
Seamless transitions between different phases of the customer lifecycle are crucial for maintaining consistency and customer satisfaction.
Key Activities:
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Automate the Sales to Post-Sales Info Transfer: Capture and transfer key details from Salesforce to Gainsight, and set up Success Plans.
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Standardize the Post-Sales Handoff Process: Define handoff expectations and train teams on the new standardized process.
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Streamline Team-to-Team Handoffs: Identify critical handoff points, create CTAs and playbooks, and monitor and adjust processes.
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Standardize the CSM Reassignment Process: Use CTAs to guide new CSMs and ensure consistency with templates and surveys.
Step 2: Optimize executive and CSM engagements
Effective and regular engagements with both executives and customers are essential for building strong relationships and driving success.
Key Activities:
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Establish Regular CSM Touchpoints: Define cadence and personas, log and track meetings, and set up alerts and CTAs.
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Schedule and Conduct EBRs Efficiently: Determine EBR frequency, simplify EBR preparation with Success Snapshots, and automate EBR scheduling.
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Conduct Executive Engagements on the Right Cadence: Define engagement cadence, use templates and CTAs, and track and adjust interactions.
Step 3: Track compliance with health score measures
Ensuring compliance with established engagement cadences is crucial for maintaining strong relationships and driving customer success.
Key Activities:
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Track EBR Compliance: Use health score measures to ensure EBRs are conducted at the right cadence.
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Monitor Exec Engagement Compliance: Track executive engagement compliance using health score measures.
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Ensure CSM Meeting Compliance: Use health score measures to monitor and ensure regular CSM meetings are conducted as scheduled.
Step 4: Standardize stakeholder management
Managing stakeholder changes can be challenging, but a standardized approach ensures continuity and alignment with customer goals.
Key Activities:
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Identify and Document Stakeholders: Gather detailed information, create checklists, and update records regularly.
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Develop a Standardized Stakeholder Change Process: Create CTAs and playbooks, prepare welcome emails and alignment decks, and schedule introductory meetings.
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Monitor and Adjust the Process: Track stakeholder changes, collect feedback, and regularly review reports to make data-driven adjustments.
What’s next
By following this series, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of how to leverage Gainsight to standardize best practices, enhance collaboration, and drive better customer outcomes. Each article builds on the previous one, creating a cohesive learning path that equips you with the tools and strategies needed to transform your customer success operations.
Stay tuned as we dive deeper into each of these topics, providing you with actionable insights and practical guidance on leveraging the Gainsight platform to its fullest potential.
Further Reading and Inspiration